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“We are all relieved,” said Windtner of the APA. After the stressful days, the 70-year-old thanked the ÖFB management and in particular the team boss Franco Foda, the sporting director Peter Schöttel, the managing director Bernhard Neuhold and the general secretary Thomas Hollerer. “Efficient crisis management was carried out, we are all happy to have succeeded.”
The turbulence of the last few days has also had positive aspects for Windtner. “It was important that the football public saw the full spectrum of candidates for our team in this situation and that it was clear that we are qualitatively broad and well positioned.”
Team ÖFB begins preparation for World Cup qualification
On Monday, the Austrian national team began preparations for the first qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The first game will take place in Scotland on Thursday.
“Clear goal” in qualifying for the World Cup
14 players were moved from the provisional 43-man roster to the roster Sunday. “But each of them still have the opportunity to play their role in the field of vision until June,” Windtner emphasized. For now, the current team is challenged to get off to a good start in qualifying for the World Cup. “We have clearly set ourselves the goal of creating the rating,” said the APA’s Windtner. The head of the association expects the first place in the group, which would mean a fixed place for Qatar in 2022. If you finished second, you would be in the play-off.
By winning the group in the Nations League, the ÖFB team would also be independent of the qualifying result in the World Cup play-off if four teams from the quintet France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Wales finish their group in first or second place. . However, Windtner does not want to rely on this rather realistic scenario and is confident in what, in his opinion, is the great class of the ÖFB team. “The team is as strong as it was in the successful 2016 European Championship qualification, only today it is much broader in terms of quality than back then,” said Windtner.
Denmark “clear favorite” for Windtner
However, Denmark should have a higher rating. “It would be inappropriate and completely exaggerated not to count the Danes among the best teams in Europe, because they have an incredibly strong squad and are the clear favorites in the group. Regardless of that, we will do our best to finish ahead of them, ”promised the ÖFB boss. Opening opponents Scotland are the toughest opponents behind Denmark, Windtner said.
If things don’t go as planned for Austria at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, nothing will be lost according to Windtner. “In qualifying for 2016 we started with a 1-1 draw at home against Sweden and then won nine times in a row. And in the last classification we lost the first two games and we are still in the Eurocup “, emphasized Windtner and summed up:” It would be good to start well, but you could see that we started badly. the beginning can be successful. “
